Province surpasses 1,500 active cases
Daily rates climb as Alberta lags behind most provinces on vaccinations
Alberta's COVID-19 daily case rates continue to rise for the fourth day in a row, going above 200 Thursday.
The province reported 223 new cases of COVID-19, and 1,520 active cases, up from 1,334 the previous day and the highest since June 23, when there were 1,582.
Cases have been rising in the province over the past week. With immunization rates in Alberta creeping up to 75.7 per cent of those eligible having one dose and 64.6 per cent fully vaccinated as of Thursday, experts have said hospitalizations and serious outcomes are the statistics to watch.
The number of Albertans in hospital with COVID-19 were 89 as of Thursday, with 20 in intensive care — a slight uptick of six from Wednesday, when there were 83.
There were no new COVID-19 deaths reported Thursday.
The numbers come a day after sweeping changes announced Wednesday by chief medical officer of health Dr. Deena Hinshaw, including that close contacts of COVID -19 cases in Alberta will no longer be required to isolate, and beginning Aug. 16, those with confirmed cases won't have to either.
Also in August, provincial masking orders on transit, in taxis or ride-hailing will expire, although masks may still be required in specific settings like vaccination sites, hospitals and continuing care facilities.
When it comes to vaccination rates per capita, the province continues to lag all others, with the exception of Saskatchewan.
While Alberta reported that new cases increased by a net of 194 Wednesday, those numbers were updated to a total of 208 cases as of Thursday to reflect changing numbers of confirmed and probable cases.